1 Acknowledgements The Town of Qualicum Beach would like to thank the following stakeholders who attended meetings and contributed their valuable knowledge and expertise to the development of this Community Climate Adaptation Plan, including: Vancouver Island University Regional District of Nanaimo Island Health Department of Fisheries and Oceans Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Qualicum Beach Streamkeepers Gord Johns MP Office Qualicum Beach Residents Association Eaglecrest Residents Association Qualicum Woods Residents Association North Qualicum Beach Residents Association Project Staff Luke Sales, Director of Planning, Town of Qualicum Beach Bob Weir, P.Eng., Director of Engineering and Operations Rebecca Augustyn, Planner Summer Goulden, Climate Change Planner and BC Lead, ICLEI Canada Land Acknowledgement The Town recognizes that this land is within the traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples and particularly the Qualicum First Nation, whom the Town works with on a regular basis. © 2020, Town of Qualicum Beach. All Rights Reserved. The preparation of this plan was carried out with assistance from the Government of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Notwithstanding this support, the views expressed are the personal views of the authors, and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Government of Canada accept no responsibility for them. 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................. 2 Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................. 4 ICLEI Canada’s Building Adaptive and Resilient Communities Framework ................................... 8 Adaptation vs. Mitigation .................................................................................................................... 9 Global and National Climate Change ............................................................................................... 10 Federal Policy Direction on Climate Adaptation ............................................................................. 11 Provincial Policy Direction on Climate Adaptation ........................................................................ 12 Climate Science ................................................................................................................................... 13 Climate Change Projections for Qualicum Beach ........................................................................... 14 Impacts and Issues ............................................................................................................................. 20 Vulnerability and Risk Assessment .................................................................................................. 20 Town of Qualicum Beach Priority Risks ........................................................................................... 22 Future Directions ................................................................................................................................ 23 Objectives and Actions ....................................................................................................................... 23 Implementation Schedules ................................................................................................................ 24 Implementation and Governance ..................................................................................................... 30 Monitoring and Review ...................................................................................................................... 32 Next Steps ............................................................................................................................................ 33 APPENDIX A – Climate Action Implementation Tables ................................................................... 34 Appendix B – Glossary of Terms ........................................................................................................ 53 Appendix C – Acronyms ...................................................................................................................... 55 References ........................................................................................................................................... 56 3 Executive Summary From rising seas to increased drought and heightened storm intensity, the Town of Qualicum Beach faces many challenges resulting from a volatile and changing climate. Along with ICLEI Canada, Town residents, and stakeholder groups, Qualicum Beach has taken a proactive and visionary approach to climate adaptation planning that addresses of wide range of impacts. Through this process, the Town worked with a variety of stakeholders in the community to address the negative effects of climate change with the goal of maintaining a high quality of life for residents and visitors, which they are well known for. By exploring a wide range of possible scenarios and potential hazards, the Town will be better equipped to handle challenging scenarios as they arise. Innovative aspects of successful climate adaptation planning include: • Policy development that builds on a strong foundation of rigorous analysis; • A methodical planning process that tackles sensitive and political issues in a manageable way; • A comprehensive, transparent and inclusive planning process; and • A defensible decision-making tool based on community values and scientific analysis. This Plan builds upon the existing action taken by the Town to address climate change and allows the Town to proactively identify opportunities for action that advance the community further towards the climate resilience of its social, economic, built and natural systems. The intent of this plan is to help organizations, institutions, businesses, and individuals of all ages adapt to current and future climate-related risks and opportunities. Although the Town has a primary role for most actions outlined in the Plan, they look to various stakeholders to further educate and implement climate change adaptation measures in the broader community. Key vulnerabilities identified in this plan include sea level rise, increasing risk of wildfires, prolonged periods of hotter, drier conditions. 4 Introduction As temperatures rise globally, the and City of Parksville. Although there Town of Qualicum Beach has already is no way of predicting the future, the experienced the increasing pressures Town continues to take steps to of climate change. Extreme weather prepare for unavoidable current and and changing climatic conditions have future climate change impacts. brought hotter and drier summers, the spread of invasive species and The Town of Qualicum Beach, vector-borne diseases, and rising sea including the waterfront, is within the levels to Qualicum Beach and the traditional territory of the Qualicum surrounding region. The impacts we First Nation whose Peoples’ have been feel today are caused by greenhouse stewards this land for thousands of gas emissions (GHGs) produced 20 to years. Residential and commercial 40 years ago and are largely development on the waterfront began unavoidable – as are the impacts that in the early 1900’s and the waterfront we will experience into the 2020s. If has been a prominent feature of the global emissions continue unabated, Town since that time. warming will persist, and the ensuing climate impacts will amplify, creating Some of the Town’s greatest assets more frequent and intense climate are also potential liabilities. The events for the rest of the century. It is waterfront is prized as one of the imperative to prepare for future Town’s most treasured assets, with climatic changes and adapt our rich ecological diversity and amazing community to this new normal. recreational amenities. However, the waterfront is also subject to the The Town of Qualicum Beach has a increasing impacts of sea level rise, long-standing commitment to climate threatening all homes, businesses and change mitigation and adaptation; amenities along the sea. sustainability planning strategies are deeply embedded in the Town’s planning documents, including the Official Community Plan, 2016 Waterfront Master Plan, and Sustainability Action Plan. At a regional level, the Town recently completed a comprehensive Hazard and Risk Vulnerability Assessment with the Regional District of Nanaimo 5 Additionally, the Town is part of a wide- ranging network of connected forests and riparian areas, a natural asset that has received worldwide recognition as a UNESCO biosphere region. However, the proximity to and connectivity with healthy forest ecosystems also makes the Town vulnerable to wildfires. The goal of this Strategy is to build the adaptive capacity of our community, and to begin to integrate climate change considerations into long-term planning and day-to-day operations. The impacts and actions in this plan reflect priority climate change risks for the community’s social, built, economic, and natural systems. Many climate-related risks extend beyond municipal jurisdiction, requiring the collaboration of important community service providers, local partnerships and other levels of government. As such, the climate actions presented in this Strategy were developed using the knowledge and experience of municipal staff, community partners, and consultant expertise. 6 Adaptation Changemakers